On 20/09/2020 16:02, I wrote:
I'm due to speak to our OR Solutions Manager tomorrow to get the whole "Hey Mr CP, here's this product you can use" experience, and then determine if it actually helps us more than hinders us. One can never be certain...
Having now had that conversation, and for the sake of the archives and other interested list members, here are some more tidbits that I took away:
1) As you can only order DFX from exchange to exchange, you need to already have a presence in the exchange(s) that you want as the endpoints to place the order.
2) The B end exchange can only have BT dark fibre. It cannot have any other provider's fibre in it. This means that you may need to go via a 3rd exchange and order 2x DFX links just to meet this requirement.
3) OR will not install new fibre to fulfil a DFX order, so if there isn't a workable path between your two exchanges you can't order the product at all. At this point, you need to wait for someone else to order an OSA that makes use of a suitable "gap" in your route, causing them to pull in a new bundle of fibres, so there's then more availability for DFX.
4) There's a pre-order survey to establish if there is a feasible path between your requested exchanges. This could take a scenic route if there's a shortage of fibres. They'll also report back at this point as to how many available fibres there are end-to-end: However, they won't reserve it. So there's a bit of a chicken-and-egg regarding access locate (see point 1) if you aren't already in one of the exchanges - by the time your access locate is sorted, there may be no viable route on DFX for where you wanted to go.
5) The SLA is essentially the same as EAD - you, of course, will be responsible for monitoring it and alerting OR that there is an issue.
6) They are trying to answer the question of whether we can come out of an exchange on an external cablelink and then joint the fibre onto our own PIA duct in the handover chamber (the alternative being to build a chamber next to the handover and go out and in again, which is plain daft).
Paul.
